One of a kind: Blinn – Brenham’s Crime Stoppers program

Texas Crime Stoppers Council says program is unique statewide

Crime doesn’t pay, but being a good Samaritan on the Blinn College – Brenham campus does.

Blinn recently became home to the first community college-run Crime Stoppers program in the state certified by the Texas Crime Stoppers Council. The campus safety program, which began last Fall, operates a hotline for anonymous tips about criminal activity and keeps a watchful eye for student code of conduct violations. The safe and anonymous reporting method gives students and area residents another means of reporting suspicious activity, offering cash rewards for information leading to arrests, indictments or disciplinary actions.

Certification of Blinn’s program allows for grants and donations it would otherwise be unable to obtain.

“When I speak to parents and tell them about our program, they ask me if crime is that bad on campus,” said Blinn Crime Stoppers Board Chair Dennis Kocich. “It isn’t, but we created the program to be proactive. It’s another tool that allows our students and faculty to feel safe.”

Kocich said the program will explore the possibility of expanding to the College’s other three campuses and adding technology for tipsters to send text messages to the hotline rather than calling.